


Date Night

by Jedi9



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, POV First Person, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:01:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26328307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jedi9/pseuds/Jedi9
Summary: Sara is trying to navigate through the mess that is her life when an unexpected reunion with an old friend makes her forget her troubles. With Peebee still not interested in any serious relationship, Sara decides to reconnect with her friend with whom she'd had a brief fling years ago.
Relationships: Peebee/Female Ryder | Sara
Kudos: 35





	1. The Old Friend

Calm down; I kept telling myself as I crossed the hallway leading from the research and development room to the bridge. My heart was thumping, and my hands clammy, but I kept walking. My anxiety was totally normal, or so Lexi said. After all, I just survived yet another encounter with that prick Archon, freed the salarian arc and a bunch of krogans in the process. A good day, you’d say.

Only, it hadn’t only been all rainbows and sunshine. The fight with the kett took a lot of energy out of me and the two other team members I had brought along with me. What we saw onboard that nightmare of a ship will haunt us for days, if not for months.

The experience had been even worse for me, since I also had yet another encounter with death itself — my second one, to be precise. My eyes were puffed slightly, and dark rings had appeared under them a few days ago since I hadn’t been able to sleep since the…incident. My hands started trembling again at the memory, so I buried them in my pockets as I finally reached the bridge; it wouldn’t do to let everyone on Tempest see me like that — weak and vulnerable.

I was surprised to see, as I arrived at my terminal behind Suvi’s chair, that no one was here. It wasn’t until my eyes turned to the display that I realized how late it was. Shit, that means she wouldn’t be awake.

Nah, she won’t be asleep, I thought as I knocked softly on her door. She was rarely asleep at this time.

I smirked to myself as Peebee unlocked the door and shouted _enter_ from her desk. I was right again.

“Ryder?” she looked surprised to see me stepping inside her room this late at night. “Don’t you ever sleep you?”

“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.”

She smiled at me, and I felt my heart miss a beat as it often does whenever she paid me attention. Okay, who am I kidding? It also happens whenever she’s nearby, whether her focus is on me or not. But when she does deign to make me her sole focus, my heart does more than just flutter.

“Tempest to Ryder,” Peebee said, waving a hand in front of my eyes, snapping me out of my trance.

I realized I’d been staring at her long enough to make it awkward, and I flushed a little as I kicked myself mentally—great start Ryder, really outstanding.

“Something you want?” the asari asked a tad impatiently.

Yes, I do want something: you. I didn’t say that, of course, I had cuts, but my courage didn’t extend that far.

“I…” I stammered awkwardly, trying to come up with a reason for being in her room at two in the morning. I knew why I was really here, but I couldn’t tell her that in fear that she’d bolt off the ship and walk out of my life entirely. So I came up with a believable excuse. “I wanted to see how your next project was coming along.”

Peebee squinted her eyes, not calling my bluff. But, whether she suspected what my real intention was, she decided to play along.

“You just couldn’t wait till morning,” she said, turning toward me. She put a hand on her waist and cocked her head to one side. “Ah, well, you humans are so impatient. But, since you’re here now, what the hell.”

Peebee disappeared in the escape pod for a moment, before reappearing with something small and purple in her hands. The blue object had a diamond-like shape, and I saw drawings engraved on its smoothly crafted surface. The drawings weren’t familiar to me, but they were beautiful.

“It’s beautiful,” I said breathlessly as I took the gem. I held it very carefully and was shocked by how light it was.

“You think so?” Peebee asked, an unusual hint of doubt mixed with a little bit of fear in her voice. This took me by surprise; she was usually so sure of herself and carefree of what others think of her. I realized that it was more than a simple gift for her; it meant something. Or maybe I was reading too much into it.

“I do,” I assured her, moving my gaze back to the gem. “Where did you find it?”

“On Havarl. I found it when you were busy talking with Jaal and his folks. The blue color made me think of your eyes.”

That sent a hot feeling through my entire body, and I knew I was starting to blush. _Oh, get a grip Ryder, it’s just a compliment_. But then I remembered that it was actually the first time that the asari had complimented me.

Sure, she’d told me on many occasions how hot I looked, but this was different. Besides, she only told me I was hot only to get in my pants — which she had yet to accomplish much to both our chagrin. I had almost lost to my desires once and got so close to accepting her offer for casual sex, but I didn’t, because casual was not enough for me.

“You’re staring in that awkward way again,” Peebee said, but the smile on her lips told me she secretly liked it.

“Sorry.”

I looked at my feet, feeling embarrassed at getting caught twice. When I looked up again, my heart didn’t miss a beat; this time it quickened, a lot. Peebee was standing uncomfortably close to me. Our eyes locked together for a lingering moment before mine drifted unconsciously to her lips, her lips that were so, so close to mine.

Bleu and harmless biotic energy flew around us, caressing the perfect lines of her jaw, bathing the room in its soft glow. When she chuckled, I realized I was the one doing it. In all my excitement, I hadn’t noticed that I momentarily lost control of my biotics. I blushed even further; this kind of thing usually only happens whenever I feel sexually excited.

“Someone is getting a little excited,” Peebee said in a soft, silky voice, leaning closer to my face.

She was so close I could practically feel the heat of her body. My heart was now running a marathon, booming in my chest against my ribcage. Suddenly, as I became aware of my heart rate, memories of that awful night on the Archon’s ship crawled their way back to the surface, and I found myself struggling to breathe.

 _Panic attack, it’s just a panic attack_ , I repeated to myself in vein.

“Hey, are you okay?” I heard Peebee asking me, but her voice felt distant, as though coming out of a long tunnel.

The walls felt like they were closing down on me; I felt trapped and helpless. When Peebee ran out of the room, I felt abandoned, alone again, so I sank to the floor and buried my face in my lap, tears running down my cheeks.

A few moments later — which felt like a lifetime to me — a hand gently squeezed my shoulder, causing me to look up. It was Lexi.

“You’re alright, you just had a panic attack,” the doctor said.

She calmed me down with a series of breathing exercises before helping me up on my feet once I had regained a semblance of dignity. As I got up on shaky legs, I saw Peebee waiting on the other side of the door, her expression a mixture of concern and…pity?

With Lexi’s help, I made it back to my quarters, where I happily followed the doc’s advice to lay down on my bed. I realized that I was suddenly exhausted. She gave me something to help me sleep, and as I drifted to sleep, I couldn’t help but think about the look on Peebee’s face.

The next day, after I woke up, I headed straight for the shower for a long overdue wash. My head was throbbing, probably because of the pills, Lexi had given me the previous night. My long brown hair — which I usually kept hanging in a short, practical ponytail — hugged my naked back as I stepped under the warm water. Steam began to rise, fogging the windows of my shower as I passed a still trembling hand through my hair. With my left hand, I drew Peebee’s name in the fogged window. Then I remembered the way she looked at me and wiped it clean with my open palm.

I groaned heavily when I reached my back with my left hand to apply soap. My shoulder was still pretty sore from a gunfight with a kett patrol on the outskirts of the central city of Havarl. It wasn’t as bad as it was two months ago, but it still hurt a lot during hotter and colder days.

Ten minutes later, I was out of the shower, clean and mostly dry, when I starred at all the clothes I had stored in my drawer. Unable to decide what to wear, I moved to my closet, where I kept all the exciting clothes — and by exciting, I mean T-shirts with cool designs and the slutty outfits I’d brought with me from home in case I ever needed to impress a girl. My eyes settled on a _Blasto saves the universe_ shirt. Perfect.

I put the shirt on, swung a pair of clean leggings, and headed out of my room. Today was going to be a busy day.

Turns out, wearing a Blasto shirt wasn’t such a great idea after all. Everyone in the Initiative leadership laughed under their breath when they saw me with it. Only a few other “nerds” liked the shirt and gave me a thumbs up when I walked passed them down the hall leading out of the Nexus’s landing pad.

“Sara?” a voice came from my left. I turned and saw a tall, blonde woman staring at me with surprised eyes. “Sara Ryder, is that you?”

“Huh, yeah,” I replied, more than a little confused.

“Oh my God, I knew it was you,” the woman continued, oblivious to the confused look I threw her way. “It’s hard to forget such a lovely face like yours. You don’t remember me do you?”

I shook my head.

“No, sorry. You do sound familiar, though.”

“Alex, Alex Burns. We were at the Academy together.”

“Alexandra Burns?” I said, eyes widening as I remembered the name. “Expert marksman Alex? God, it’s been a while.”

“It sure has,” Alex said, stepping closer to me. “Look at you. You haven’t changed a bit, well other than being Pathfinder, I mean.”

I felt my face grow hot as I passed a hand through my hair. Alex smiled at me, moving even closer to my face. She was so close I could smell the soft fragrance of that cherry perfume she always loved wearing. The smell of it brought back memories from our days at the Academy — brought me back to a simpler time.

“What brings you to the Nexus?” she asked.

“Pathfinder business,” I answered. “Turns out, finding the salarian ark and rescuing what was left of its crew comes with a lot of paperwork.”

Alex gave me a once-over and chuckled.

“You’re wearing this old ridiculous shirt to do paperwork?”

“Hey, this _old ridiculous shirt_ was a gift from you, need I remind you. Plus, it’s comfy.”

“And very soft too.”

She slowly ran a finger down my arm, the contact sending tiny electric discharges through my body. It had been a while since I felt the comforting touch of another person, and I wanted more, needed more. As if reading my mind, Alex repeated the motion on the other arm while sneaking her left hand under my shirt before moving it up and down my back.

“Hmmm, yes, very soft indeed,” she repeated, her voice so low and dripping with sexual promise.

“We’re not talking about the shirt anymore, are we?” I asked stupidly.

She laughed again, her eyes never leaving mine.

“No.”

Heat began to rise between us; my mind felt foggy and slow as her fingers started playing with the back of my bra.

“I…I’m sorry, Alex, but I really need to do that paperwork,” I said, willing myself to put a stop to the moment. We were in public after all; public affection always made me uncomfortable, more so than it made the people watching it.

“Right, I forgot.” The wink she gave me, however, betrayed her statement. “I’d like to see you again, Sara. After you’re done with your Pathfinder stuff, maybe we could go out for dinner tonight? What do you say?”

“Yeah,” I blurted out excitedly. “I’d like that.”

And with a smile, we went our separate ways, both feeling excited for tonight. Maybe this night out was what I needed to get over my feelings for Peebee. I gave her enough time, but now I had to move on.


	2. Shared Feelings

The sound of an alarm nearly made me jump out of bed. I sat upright, eyes franticly darting around for the source of the danger, until I realized it was my morning alarm waking me up. With a nod in my stomach and no small amount of shame, I got up, got dressed, and began my daily morning visits of my team’s workstations.

I started with Gil’s, then worked my way up to the rest of the team. I visited all of them, but one. Yeah, you probably guessed it right, Peebee. I was still feeling angry at her reaction to that…incident the other day. It didn’t help that she hadn’t talked or visited since.

It probably was pitty — hell now that I think back on it, it really was — but I was pissed, and I respected Peebee too much to hurt her feelings.

“Hey,” I said to Suvi and Kallo as I walked up to the helm. The station came to life as I approached it; the view out the canopy changed to an accurate holographic reproduction of the Heleus cluster as the Tempest’s navigation system waited for me to choose a destination. I didn’t have any, but I liked to gaze at the miniaturized stars.

“Ryder,” Suvi answered. “I heard you were going out on a date tonight. Who’s the lucky gal?”

I heard a door sliding open behind me, causing me to hesitate to give my answer.

“She’s an old friend of mine,” I said, feeling a weird feeling forming in my middle section. “We met back home at the Academy. She was studying to become a sharpshooter, and I was more into advanced reconnaissance. We first crossed paths during a war exercise, and we became good friends.” And by good friends, I meant nearly engaged, but they didn’t need to know that.

“That’s nice; it’s always fun to reconnect with old friends,” Suvi said.

“Yeah, it is.” _I hope._

After I finished my tour of the crew and a bunch of exhausting, uninteresting Pathfinder stuff, I returned to my room to get ready for my date. Three different dresses were sprawled on my bed as I tried to decide which one to wear. The red dress was long, covering most of my legs. The blue and white one had too much of a formal look to it, so I set it aside with the rest of the clothes I had tried.

A knock on the door stopped me from going yet again to my closet to take out another dress. I was surprised to see Peebee waiting on the other side.

“I heard you were going on a date,” the asari said, storming into my room before I even had time to say hi.

“Yeah, and I’m trying to get ready.”

“Trying and failing.” She pointed at the pile of clothes next to the bed. “I had a feeling you couldn’t decide, so I thought I would come down here and offer my help.”

The thought of Peebee seeing my naked as I tried on different dresses made my stomach dance, and I had to fight really hard not to trip as I walked back to my closet.

“No, no, stop,” she said, grabbing my forearm.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, confused.

“What’s wrong is you continuously going back and forth to your closet. You don’t need to add anything else to that pile of yours. I already found the right dress.”

Peebee turned around and grabbed the sluttiest dress I had in my collection. She glared at me until I reluctantly took it from her.

“I don’t know, Peebee,” I said, staring at the black dress. “Isn’t it too much?”

“When looking at it, too much is not what comes to mind, Ryder,” she answered with a wink. There was something in her tone that made my heart skip a beat.

“Alright, I’ll try it. Do you mind looking elsewhere, please?”

I waited until she turned around before sliding my shirt over my head. The air of the room felt cool and smooth on my exposed skin, and I didn’t need a mirror to know that Peebee was now staring at my naked back. She made a barely audible squeal and quickly cleared her throat when she saw me stiffen. I kept a neutral expression, but inside, I was chuckling at the knowledge that behind all that façade, it wasn’t that hard to make Peebee giddy.

I took my pants off and quickly put on the dress, excited to get this awkward moment over with. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t help but feel like I was showing too much cleavage. Most of my breasts where covered by the soft fabric, but when I turned around, there wasn’t much left to the imagination.

“You look perfect,” I heard Peebee say behind me. She sounded a bit sad.

“You think so?” I asked, wanting to hear her compliment me again.

“Yes. Your friend doesn’t know how lucky she is.”

That made my heart flutter again.

I felt her coming closer, so close I could feel her breath at the nape of my neck. I closed my eyes and unconsciously arched my back when one of her fingers accidentally brushed my skin while she helped with the zipper. That unexpected contact sent little electric discharges through my body, and I found myself wanting more.

“Thanks,” I finally managed to say, putting a few steps between us. “Well, I better get going; I don’t want to be late.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I have…stuff to do anyway. Have a good evening.”

She left almost as quickly as she had arrived, leaving me more than a little flustered. I felt torn between rushing after her, telling her how I really felt, and risk spooking her into leaving and going out with Alex.

_Ugh!_

With a heavy sigh, I collected my purse, let my hair fall loose on top of my shoulders, and headed out.

The _Sensations Club_ was located on the upper level of the Nexus, with wide-open bars leading to a large balcony overlooking the new botanic gardens below. At this time of day, the station’s artificial daylight was slowly fading in an accurate replication of a sunset; the warm lights bathed the balcony in a beautiful orange and pink hue. Soon, the stars would become slowly visible as the station gradually entered its night cycle, with the black hole visible in the distance. It was a majestic sight to behold.

At the right corner, near the bar, a jazz band comprised of asari, turians, and humans played a song with a slow tempo usually played during romantic dances. All around me, people chattered and laughed, discussing evening plans or telling stories from the good old time.

Some people had recognized me when I arrived half an hour ago, and I felt embarrassed by their constant thanks and compliments. An older man thanked me for saving his son from a group of exiles about to raid his workplace on Kadara.

Two women were still staring at me in amazement from their booth to my left. I buried my face in the food menu to hide from the awkwardness. Being Pathfinder came with its perks, but it sure as hell also came with its disadvantages as well. I wondered if I would ever be able to eat somewhere without being recognized by someone like I was a pop star or something.

“Are you trying to eat the menu?” Alex asked me in a playful tone.

“I’m trying to ignore the two groupies.” I set the menu down on the table. “The lobster looks good, though the price of the wine is crazier than the rent of my old apartment back home.”

“I was eyeing the stake, and at this price, it better be damn good,” Alex replied.

The waiter arrived at our table and collected our picks before heading out. Another one, a cute girl with glasses, filled our cups with an exquisite red wine. I took the glass, raised it, and made a toast.

“To old friends.”

“To old friends,” Alex echoed.

We touched glasses and drank. The wine was exquisite, like everything else in this place, but despite it all, I couldn’t shake that feeling like I wasn’t where I belonged. I cursed myself silently when Alex’s expression shifted to one of puzzlement.

“Something wrong?” she asked. “You have that look again.”

“What look?” I asked.

“That distracted look. Was it something I did?”

I shook my head rapidly. “No, no, of course not.”

I bit my lower lip, trying to figure out how much I should tell her about my unresolved feelings for Peebee. I sighed and took another sip of wine.

“It’s not you, Alex.” I began, hoping she wouldn’t take it too badly. “There’s this person on my team, an asari. She keeps sending me mixed messages, and I don’t know what to make of them, and how to feel.”

Alex did not interrupt as I went on like that for another minute or so, nodding every now and then and looking surprisingly understanding about the whole thing. I imagined she would be mad, or at least disappointed, but when she answered me this, it surprised me.

“I’m in a similar situation too, you know. She is not an asari, though; she’s one of us. I’ve told her how I felt, but she doesn’t seem to have the same feelings for me. The occasional booty call is the only time I get to spend some alone time with her, but I wish I had more.”

“What is wrong with us?” I said. “Look at us, two young and attractive women who are stuck loving people who do not see us the way we see them.”

When our eyes locked, memories of our time together at the Academy came rushing back to the front of my mind, and for just a moment, I wanted to reach over the table, grab her by the necklace and get lost in her lips. Judging by the way she was staring back at me, she obviously felt the same about me.

The waiter came back with our order and placed our plates in front of us. The lobster I ordered smelled divine and tasted just as good. We recounted stories of our past, of missions we went on since graduating, of our romantic conquests and our messy breakups, but mostly, we laughed at pranks we pulled on our friends and families.

When I checked my watch, I realized how much time had passed. When I looked up again, Alex was staring at me with an intensity I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Want to get out of here?” her voice was husky and low, and her eyes were burning with desire.

My heart pumped quickly, and I was so scared my voice would come out all squeaky, so I simply nodded, my eyes never leaving hers as we got up, paid the bill, and exited the restaurant.

I let Alex guide me through the Nexus’ dark hallways. Her hand felt smooth and warm on mine; her thumb was making slow circles along my skin. She opened the door of her apartment and all but threw me on the large, queen-sized bed in the middle of the living room.

I gasped as Alex hovered over me, her hands already working on tugging my short dress over my head. Her fingers moved slowly down my neck and stopped shy of my panties. She lowered herself on me, and I could feel her heart beating quickly against my bare chest.

With clumsy fingers, I slipped her clothes off and threw them next to the bed without looking away from those beautiful green eyes. Our lips met for the first time in years, and it was like coming home. My tongue touched and began to dance in unison with hers, and I was barely aware of her finger sneaking under my underwear as my brain was nothing more than jello at that point.

It had been so long, yet Alex remembered her way around my body, knew where to touch to get me going, where to kiss to make me woozy. My breath came quick and shallow as I felt hands and lips touching me in numerous places, the finger in my underwear edging closer and closer toward my clit.

I don’t know if it was the physical contact with another woman or the circumstances that had brought the two of us to reconnect, but I suddenly began to weep, which brought Alex to a startled halt. She looked at me for a long moment, unsure what to say or do, before wiping the hot tears from my cheeks with her free hand.

“Shhh, it’s alright,” Alex whispered.

“I’m sorry,” I replied, feeling more than a little ashamed.

I put a hand in her hair and gently but quickly pulled her face down on mine, seeking comfort in her lips that tasted like cherry.

“I’ve missed you, missed this,” I whispered between two kisses.

In response, Alex pinned her body against mine and finally slipped her finger inside me. I let out a loud moan as her finger moved quickly forward and backward, sending shivers of exhilaration through my entire body.

The weeping resumed, but this time, I used the hand wrapped around her back to prevent her from giving me space. I did not need space; I needed her, needed her muscular, well-defined body firmly pressed on mine. She picked up on my queue and did not pull away.

I closed my eyes and gasped heavily as Alex worked her way across my planes, moving her tongue around my nipples. The finger inside my sex was now making circling motions, causing another moan to escape my mouth.

“Take it off,” I told her, pointing at her panties.

Alex smiled and did as I asked before doing the same with mine. She then spread my legs and began rubbing her sex on mine at a slow, steady pace.

“Does it feel good?” she asked as she fondled with my breasts.

“Hmmm,” I groaned as a reply.

The burning in my crotch increased, and my legs began to quiver. My senses were overloaded, and I moaned loudly and uncontrollably as Alex took me to my limits. I could hear her breathing increase as she orgasmed before me.

Her shaking hands found my breasts and squeezed them as she rocked her hips back and forth more quickly now. I arched my back and closed my eyes as a wave of pure ecstasy washed over me, and at that moment, I felt everything and nothing at the same time.

Shortly after, Alex was lying next to me. We were both sweaty and panting like crazy. She wrapped her hands around me and pulled me on my right side, and kissed the back of my neck for a long moment.

“Fuck Alex, you’re just as good as I remember,” I said between shallow breaths.

“And you’re even prettier than I remembered,” she answered. That made my stomach feel all giddy and funny.

Her fingers found a new scar on my left side, right above my waist, and began to move slowly over it. For some inexplicable reason, the notion that she knew I was recently injured cause my heart to ache. I resisted the urge to roll on my other side, to hide the scar and the story behind it. But I didn’t.

She found another scar between my shoulder blades; this time, it was her lips that touched it. I felt completely exposed — a weird feeling to have considering we just had sex a few seconds ago.

“You have been through a lot since the last time we saw each other, haven’t you?” Alex asked. She sounded chagrinned.

Images of my dad pulling his N7 helmet over my head as I suffocated to death, of the Archon capturing my team and me, and of the exalted Angara flashed in my mind.

“Yes, I have,” I said in a small voice, surprised to find it didn’t break mid-sentence.

“If you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”

I took in a deep breath, and as Alex pulled me closer to her, I began to tell her everything.


	3. Free Fall

I playfully blew in my mug of coffee as I gazed at the beautiful sunset on Eos, closing my eyes as a fresh breeze stroke my face. My mind was still on that night, Alex and I spent a few days ago, where we had reconnected after years apart. I felt my lips curl into a smile and reopened my eyes in time to see Peebee approaching from my left.

My stomach sunk slightly as she sat right next to me, with only a few inches of space between us. I fought the urge to close the distance separating us, to embrace her and tell her how much I wanted her. _My heart aches for you; every beat feels agonizing whenever you are around. I want to tell you all of this, but I cannot, for I fear I will lose you forever if I do._

“Hey,” I said as I turned around to face her.

“Hey there. What are you doing all alone up here? The others were wondering where you had gone off to.”

I chuckled. “They sent you to retrieve me?”

Peebee gave me a look. “No one sends me anywhere, Ryder.”

“My bad,” I replied, raising my hands in surrender.

“No, I came here of my own volition.” She stared off into the distance, the sun bathing her face in a warm glow that seemed to accentuate her features' purple colors.

“Ah,” I said nodding. “Were you missing me? Or were you scared I had left on a Remtech gathering mission without you?”

She looked back at me, and for a fleeting moment, I caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes before the impenetrable wall rebuilt itself.

“Maybe I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t gotten yourself into trouble again.”

“No, not in trouble,” I answered. _At least, not the kind you’re thinking of._

We sat like that for a while, silently watching the spectacular sunrise from the top of our hill, and though she never said it, I knew Peebee was enjoying this moment as much as I was. Well, maybe not as much, but close.

When I felt her right arm wrapping around my back, I fought real hard not to turn around and straddle her. Instead, I put my head on her shoulder and admired the colors in the sky, shifting from orange to pink. By the time the sun was set entirely above the mountains, I was barely awake, as I had dozed off not long ago.

“Sara,” Peebee said.

I half grunted half moaned as a reply, feeling too lazy to force my mouth to formulate actual words. It was a perfect moment, and I was not yet ready for it to end.

“We should return to the ship.”

“Why?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Because Cora left a message while you were napping. The Nexus has a mission for us.”

And with that, the moment was over.

“Alright,” I said, straightening up, rubbing the remnants of sleep from my eyes. “Let's go see what they want with us.”

It turned out that what they wanted was for me to retrieve a data package from an Initiative ship that broke contact with Command in the Pfeiffer sector. Since the Tempest was already in the neighborhood, it was only logical that they wanted me to retrieve it, but I couldn’t help but think that it was Tann’s way to punish me for not saving the salarian Pathfinder. Data retrieval was not a task that required a Pathfinder’s unique skill set; any Apex security officers could have handled it, so why me?

I sighed as I checked the time on my omni-tool. It took twenty-five hours to arrive in the system and an additional five hours to find the lost vessel amidst the numerous asteroids. Usually, finding one of our ships wasn’t too difficult; all you had to do was lock on its navigational beacon and let the autopilot do the rest. As Kallo brought us closer to the vessel, it became apparent why it took us this long to find it.

The damage had turned the craft into a barely recognizable wreck. Windows had blown up, parts of the hull floated everywhere around the rocks, and a vast hole now occupied the spot where the port side hatch door should have been.

“Kallo, get us as close as you can to the ship and kill the engines,” I ordered my pilot.

I saw him nodding in acknowledgment as I turned and headed for the airlock, where I called for Liam and Peebee to join me. We checked and rechecked all our equipment and ensured our ammo packs were well secured on our belts before pressing the hatch release button on the wall panel.

A few moments later, and the three of us were floating in space. I heard Peebee chuckling as she flipped and spun playfully around Liam and me. Seeing her like that made me regret my decision not to fool around with her in the escape pod that night before we infiltrated the Archon’s flagship.

“Alright, Peebee, stay focused,” I said through the short-range comm channel. I hated to be that girl, but we had a mission to do, and I needed everyone on my team focused and alert. “We’re coming up on the ship, distance fifty meters.”

Liam waved a hand in an affirmative motion before saying: “Copy. Engaging deceleration thrusters, don’t want to overshoot our target.”

My thumb brushed over the thrusters’ commands on my right glove, flicking the automated approach command up as the vessel grew closer and closer. My head snapped forward violently as the deceleration thrusters mounted in my backpack engaged. Nausea crept up my stomach, and I forced bile back down my throat, grimacing.

I floated the rest of the way, lifting my legs and preparing for impact as I approached the ship’s blown entrance. Once inside, I opened the flashlight on my chest plate and observed my immediate surroundings. The walls were charred, suggesting that an explosion was the reason the ship was drifting lifelessly.

Liam was next to enter the ship, with Peebee close on his heels. I motioned for them to fall in behind me in a tight wedge formation as we slowly and carefully edged our way through the hallway. The deeper we went, the more uncomfortable I got. Lights were flickered on the ceiling, giving the silent vessel an unsettling feeling of dread, like we were walking into our imminent deaths.

I looked over at Liam to my right to see if he, too, was feeling the same way, but his black visor made it hard to read his expression. His body stance was calm but alert, his left hand clutching the barrel of his rifle a little tighter than usual.

Peebee, who was trailing a step back behind me on my left, was the exact opposite of Liam. She was twitchy and on edge, and every now and then, she jumped at the occasional chunk of debris hitting the ship’s hull.

“SAM, can you guide us to the bridge?” I asked my AI.

“ _Walk forward for fifty meters, then head right_ ,” he answered in his calm, usual tone.

We reached the bridge a few moments later, and while SAM downloaded the data that we were sent here to collect, I tasked Liam to search the vessel and rescue any possible survivors. He nodded and headed back out the hallway we came in, leaving Peebee and me alone on the bridge.

“You look good in a VAC suit,” I told the asari once I was sure Kosta was safely out of earshot. My eyes drifted from her blue face down to her chest, the tight spacesuit hugging her every curve.

She caught me staring and grinned devilishly.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she replied, creeping slowly towards me. “You know, it’s going to take a little while before the download is complete, and we’re all alone in here.” She moved a hand along my left thigh, causing me to shiver unexpectedly.

“Maybe, just maybe, we could have a little bit of fun.”

Her hand continued moving upward, stopping shy of my crotch. A part of me wanted to rip both our helmets off and suck those lips that longed to be kissed; this part of the ship was sealed and had sufficient air after all. The more professional side of me chastised me for even considering doing something this fooling while on a mission.

I wanted to shout in frustration, tired of feeling tortured by my desires, and insecurities.

A loud, screeching noise then came from behind, pulling the both of us off each other as we whirled around to locate the source. There, hovering a good five meters above ground, was an observer Remnant bot, its edges turning from green to red as it activated its combat mode.

“Watch out,” Peebee shouted before slamming into me.

As we tumbled to the ground, her compact frame landed hard on me, knocking the wind out of my lungs. I turned my head to the left, just in time to see Peebee unleash five slug bursts in the Observer. It screamed and spun madly around before crashing into the viewport, twitching for three seconds before dying.

I looked up at my savior as she removed her helmet. Her face was dripping with cold sweat, and she panted heavily like she just finished running a marathon. I was also huffing and puffing as I threw away my helmet, my face refreshed by the cold air around us.

“Shit, are you alright?” Peebee asked with genuine concern.

I smiled reassuringly.

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

However, as I tried to get up, I realized I was not quite as alright as I’d thought. I felt a sharp pain on my left side like a thousand burning needles were penetrating my skin at the same time.

“Oh, fuck.” I fell back down on my butt and clasped my left hand on the wound. Blood trickled through my gloved fingers and onto the concrete floor, and I was beginning to feel light-headed as the adrenaline started to fade away.

“Shit, that’s a lot of blood,” Peebee stated as she knelt next to me.

She pressed her hand on mine, pushing hard on it to slow down the loss of blood. Usually, one would apply Medi-gel on the wound, but we hadn’t planned on encountering any armed resistance, so only one of us was carrying the med-kit, and it was Liam.

“Liam, come back to the bridge,” Peebee shouted anxiously into the comms. “We need the Medi-gel, ASAP!”

Seconds that felt like hours passed before Liam reappeared on the bridge, med-kit already in hand. Together, they patched me up and helped me up on my feet.

“Did you find any survivors?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“No, there’s no one else on board,” he answered grimly.

When SAM announced that the download was complete, we put our helmets back on and began making our way back to the blown airlock. I only took a few steps before bending over in pain as I popped my stitches.

“Let me help you.” Peebee wrapped my left arm around her neck to support my weight, and together we made it all the way to the airlock.

The next part was trickier and took longer to do than we would have liked. Since I was in no shape to use the free-fall thrusters in my pack, I had to let both Peebee and Liam carry me back to the Tempest. The journey was slow and took a good portion of an hour before we finally landed back in the garage of my ship.

Lexi was already waiting for us, and she helped place me on a gurney. As they dragged me back to the med bay, my vision began to blur and darken at the edges. My brain barely registered the doctor’s hands, grabbing the tight fabric of my undersuit and cutting it open. Muffled voices shouted incomprehensible words as shapes and lights danced in front of my eyes before I eventually gave up.

The last thing I saw before dozing off was the sad and worried face of the person I loved staring intensely at me.


	4. Falling For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peebee's love declaration and the love scene in this chapter have been slightly modified from the game's version, hope you enjoy.

The arid air of Kadara made me sick in the stomach, but I forced myself to focus on the task at hand and ignore the growing feeling of discomfort. I surveyed the bar’s patrons as I stepped into the bar. When I arrived at the table Peebee shared with a stranger, the asari flashed me a quick smile and waited for me to sit.

“Ryder, meet my new best friend,” she said, pointing at the human man sitting next to her. “What’s your name again?”

“Samrick,” he answered, shaking his head.

“Right,” Peebee said, moving her gaze back on me. “Samrick here has been so sympathetic about Poc being stolen that he told me he used to run with Kalinda’s crew, and he knows where they congregate. He also knows their safehouses.”

I gave Samrick a once over and took a sip of Peebee’s beer. She gave me a look, but I shrugged it off with a wink and a smile.

“Well,” I said, staring Samrick right in the eye, “that makes you a truly important person.”

“Look, I appreciate the drinks and the flattery, but Kalinda doesn’t take kindly to people discussing her business interest,” he replied. “She busted me up pretty badly when she kicked me off her outfit; I don’t really want a repeat.”

I threw some money on the table and pushed it slowly toward Samrick, my eyes never leaving him. I didn’t trust him enough to take my eyes off him, and when you deal with scumbags, it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Listen, Samrick. You’re sitting in an open bar in Kadara port with the Pathfinder. Kalinda will hear about it, and she won’t be happy that you met with us. Either you take your chances with her, or you can take the money I just gave you, buy yourself a drink and let me help you.”

He stared at me for a moment, then shifted his gaze from me to Peebee, and back to me. I could see him thinking the situation over, playing scenarios back and forth in his mind before realizing that he had no other choices than to help me.

“Fine, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Peebee smiled excitedly at me as we listened to Samrick’s intel.

In the next days, Peebee had begun spending more time with me, even after our encounter with Kalinda on that volcanic moon the day before. Saving Peebee’s ex from certain death had awoken something in her. Now, there was something new between us, a tension of some kind, palpable and intense, and neither of us knew what it was. I tried ignoring it for a while, but it became nearly impossible to discard as the days passed.

Still, I avoided admitting my feelings to her, too afraid she would bounce right out the airlock if I did. Being with her became excruciating, and when I wasn’t, the only thing my mind could think about was how much she makes me laugh, how I’m a happier and a better person when she’s around me.

“I only wish that there’s a way I could know for certain,” I told Lexi as she slid my shirt over my head. I felt her warm hands sliding down my back, feeling the spine for any signs of bumps or abnormalities.

“Maybe you should tell her,” she replied.

“Yeah, I could, but what if she doesn’t feel the same way? She’ll just leave, and then I’ll be back to square one. I like what we have; I don’t want to risk messing it up.”

Lexi maneuvered me around the bed so that I was now facing her. She shoved my hair away from my face and palpated the lymph nodes in my neck.

“What you have is a relationship where at least one of you is living in denial. You can’t constantly be around someone you love and turn off your feelings; it does not work like that. Besides, it’s not healthy.”

The rest of the exam was spent in silence, but I could feel the looks Lexi gave me. She was probably waiting for me to agree with her, and I did; I was just not ready to admit it verbally. She was right; I couldn’t keep ignoring my heart anymore, I had to do something soon, or all those feelings would drive me insane.

A few days passed, and Lexi’s words echoed in my mind like a broken record stuck on repeat. After running a few errands for the Initiative on Elaaden, the crew and I had decided to throw a little party on board the Tempest. Liam had insisted we played poker since his movie night wasn’t quite yet ready, and Gil hadn’t waited for a second invitation before running back from engineering with his deck of cards and his stack of chips.

He wiped the floor with all of us but me. He thought I cheated somehow, but I didn’t, although SAM had offered to read Gil’s body temperature and micro-expressions to give me an edge. No, I beat him fair and square and was feeling surprisingly good about it.

“Wanna go again, flyboy?” I asked smirking.

“I fix the ship and keep it running,” he replied. “I don’t fly it.”

“Would you rather I call you, grease head?”

He shook his hand and packed up his cards in his briefcase.

“Flyboy will do.”

As I watched him leave, I caught Peebee staring at me from the corner of my eye and turned to regard her fully. Her gentle eyes seemed to burn with want as they gazed at me with an intensity I had never seen before.

Peebee cleared her throat and sat on the chair opposite mine at our little makeshift table. My heart pounded in my chest as it did so many times before when she was around me. Remembering Lexi’s words to me during my last checkup, I opened my mouth and was about to proclaim my love for her, but when Peebee swiped her index finger along my knuckles, all thoughts evaporated, and my brain went numb. The contact sent miniature electric discharges down my entire arm, and I couldn’t understand how such a simple thing as hands touching could feel so intimate.

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately,” Peebee said, unable to look at me in the eye. My stomach sunk a little. Had she discovered how much she meant to me and was now telling me she wanted to leave?

I tried to say something, but the words were stuck in my throat like a massive lump.

“Everything you’ve done for me these past few months,” she squeezed my hand gently. “I wanted to say thank you. You helped me get closure with Kalinda, and for that, I’m forever grateful.”

I let out a long sigh of relief.

“As a thank you, I have a little gift for you in my room. Go get it; I’ll wait here.”

I nodded and all but ran to the bridge. When I entered the escape pod room, the place was empty except for Poc, who floated calmly in the center of the room. When it saw me, the bot played for me a recording of Peebee, in which she admitted feeling an attraction for me that was deeper than just friendship.

“I want strings,” Peebee’s voice said. “All the strings and I want to be with you. I didn’t want to say this to you in person, in case you didn’t feel the same. But, if you do, if you want to be with me, meet me in the meeting room.”

I wanted to throw my hands in the air and scream my lungs out, but I didn’t. Instead, I stood in the middle of the room, smiling and feeling happier than I had been in months.

When I returned to the meeting room, I saw Peebee giving a speech to the others, telling them that she was proud to be a part of this family. I waited at the top of the stairs, my back pressed against the railing while I let Peebee finish her speech. After the others returned to their respected posts, I cleared my throat and approached Peebee.

“I got your message,” I said, closing the distance separating the two of us.

“And?” she asked nervously.

“And I want to be with you, only you.”

For the first time today, her eyes locked with mine, and she grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer to her. When our lips met for the first time, I wanted to weep. Peebee was glorious, her smooth lips moved expertly against mine in a hot, wet kiss, and when her tongue glided in my mouth, I felt her arms tightening around my back.

Peebee broke away from the kiss to regard me, her eyes taking in every detail of my face and body.

“Let’s get out of here,” Peebee whispered in my ear.

The trip back to my room went by in a blur; my mind could not focus on anything other than its need to kiss the asari further.

The door closed behind Peebee, then she lifted me off the floor and carried me to my bed. My back sunk into the mattress as she hovered over me, her hands cupping my face before her lips crashed back on mine with a hunger that had been building for weeks.

“I’ve wanted to do this for weeks now,” Peebee whispered, placing a hand on my breasts.

I moved closer to Peebee just as she moved closer to me, my clit standing to attention as our breasts brushed against each other. Kissing Peebee was divine and intense and was much better than I imagined. I clung to her as pent up need overwhelmed me, my longing for her increasing by the second.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, too,” I replied, a smile creasing my lips.

I turned my head to the side, surrendering myself completely to Peebee. She did not wait for a second invitation, her mouth and lips moving expertly around my neck. I focused on my breathing, calming myself to avoid losing consciousness on the spot.

I felt my shirt being lifted over my head before Peebee started to nibble the side of my neck. Then my pants and underwear joined my top on the floor. Her lips and tongue trailed down my neck, licking and sucking their way down to my bra. Peebee looked up while her left hand pulled and freed my breasts from my bra. She observed me for a long while, and I was suddenly extremely aware of how vulnerable and exposed I felt at that very moment.

Peebee used her arm that was still clasped around my back to sit me upright before closing her lips around the nipple of my right breast. She sucked and nibbled, rolling my hard nipple around her tongue, before doing the same with the other one. Her hands were suddenly everywhere at once; they stroke and grabbed and squeezed, driving me in a frenzy, never going exactly where I truly wanted them to go.

“Take your clothes off; I want to feel you,” I said, my voice husky and low.

She did not wait for me to ask a second time, and within a minute, her clothes were off and on the floor next to mine. She pressed her naked body against mine, her lips back on mine. Kissing Peebee naked was so much more erotic than with clothes on. My body tingled as Peebee ran her tongue along my bottom lip, before sliding it into my mouth, at once rough but also gentle.

The room became fuzzy, Peebee’s kisses were scrambling my senses, and I could think of nothing else but making love to her. Peebee was everything I had imagined and so much more.

She let go of my mouth and settled near my ear.

“Lie back, let me make you feel good,” she whispered.

I did as I was told.

Peebee straddled me, observing my body naked body before lowering her head near my waist. Her tongue trailed along my stomach before settling over my clit. I moaned as her finger began rubbing it at a sluggish pace, her left hand grabbing and squeezing my breasts. When she flicked her wet tongue over my sex, I reached out to hold on to something, but there was nothing to hand, only the white sheets, so I clung to that.

I arched my back and spread myself fully, surrendering control to Peebee and opening myself up to new possibilities, to new experiences. I tensed as Peebee’s breath was hot and heavy over my pussy. Seconds later, she guided her tongue into me, easing through my slick folds, and she trailed her tongue slowly from top to bottom.

I moaned as a wave of pleasure washed over my body, grabbing harder at the sheets underneath me, eyes never leaving Peebee’s. Her eyes were bright pools of want as she kept pleasuring me with her tongue and fingers.

I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing, not ready to reach orgasm just yet. I wanted to come with her.

“I want to pleasure you at the same time,” I told her.

Peebee’s face registered distinct pleasure, and she reversed her body so I could reach her, her knees planted at either side of my shoulders, her mouth never leaving my sex.

I reached up and swirled my tongue around Peebee’s clit. My brain almost short-circuited when Peebee moaned into my pussy as I pleasured her, my clit pulsing with excitement. I placed a hand on her butt cheek and squeezed firmly but gently while I penetrated her with a single finger.

My finger slid easily inside her already wet pussy, and I felt her hips tremble under my touch. I let out a piercing moan which dripped with desire; such was the intensity of pleasure.

“Fuck,” I said, panting, pushing up my hips to let Peebee know exactly what I wanted.

Peebee responded to my encouragements by slipping two fingers inside me and sucking my clit gently into her mouth. Peebee tasted delicious; she tasted of my dreams.

I struggled to concentrate as Peebee sucked and licked and stroke, but I was determined to pleasure her just as much as she was pleasuring me; I owed her that much.

“Oh my God, Sara,” Peebee moaned as I mimicked what she was doing to me.

As I sunk into Peebee, fucking, and sucking her slowly, she returned the favor to a point I wasn’t sure what to focus on, but I didn’t care. Every moan, every stroke, and flick of the tongue drove me closer to the edge. Peebee was pacing herself, careful not to go too fast so I could enjoy every second of our moment together.

Months of denied feelings and pent up, longing for one another collapsed in a wave of pure bliss as we both rode ourselves to orgasm.

“That was amazing,” I said between breaths, my entire body covered in sweat.

Peebee laid next to me, her mouth nibbling playfully at my earlobe.

“I didn’t understand why you wanted to wait.” She stroke my face with her hand. “But I’m glad you did. You mean so much to me, and I love you.”

Tears formed at the back of my eyes, and I turned to regard her fully. Her hazel eyes locked with my bright blue ones as I reached in for a long kiss.

“I love you too.”


End file.
